(Aztec Tobacco)
The wild tobacco used by North American Indians for thousands of years and still in use in native ceremonies. It is grown for smoking in some parts of Asia. More potent than cultivated tobaccos, with more nicotine, it is a source of nicotine sulfate, an insecticide for the control of aphids, thrips, whiteflies and mites. It is an annual growing to 1.5 meters (5 ft.) tall, flowering from July to September. It is frost tender, but will produce a crop in areas where the summers are warm and frost-free. Requires full sun and light, sandy soil, but it will grow successfully in heavier soils if the drainage is good. Click here for instructions for growing tobacco in home gardens.